Tuesday, February 3, 2009

brown robin... felted, that is

You just wouldn't believe the little pile of wool this was before I made my feathered friend. I should have taken a picture. This newest undertaking for me has been a wonderful diversion from the winter blah's. It comes together really quickly and is so satisfying, like a good pot of chili. It's a very inexpensive adventure, as well. A huge bag of wool, plus the needle, plus the foam pad was all of ten dollars. I have plenty of wool to make several more. Holiday ornaments for next year? That would put me more ahead of the game than I've ever been in my life.

My friend who introduced me to this latest bit of crafting checked out two books from our local library which she shared with me. They're both fantastic, and super helpful. The first is Wool Pets by Laurie and Kevin Sharp and the second, is titled Little Felted Animals by Marie-Noelle Horvan. You can bet I'll be checking them out once I reach the top of the wait list.

Now I'm wondering if my almost six year old could try her hand at felting. I was inspired by this lovely woman's blog. In this post, her daughters made a felted landscape with some help from their grandmother. My sweet girl is chomping at the bit. She asked repeatedly if she could try when I was working on the robin. I kept telling her I didn't think it was a good idea. Now I'm reconsidering. Speaking from experience, it really hurts when you prick yourself with that needle. On the other hand, a needle piercing probably won't lead to death, and she's really good at fine motor work. (She's been weaving up a storm on her little loom from Christmas. ) I have a Montessori teacher that knows my daughter really well whom I could consult. Hmmmm...

1 comment:

Your little one sounds like my just-turned-six-year-old! She really loves to needle felt, but I definitely supervise! One thing that helps a lot is to use a chopstick to hold the wool to the foam, instead of fingers. I even do this when I am working on small details. I also think water felting is great for younger one. There is a lot you can do with a little warm water, wool roving and a squirt of soap placed inside a ziploc bag and squished. Just be sure the bag is closed tightly! I think that I will soon be posting a demo for this method. :)I love your felt robin, it is so sweet!